Quest Nutrition has come up with a wide range of healthy snacks right from protein bars to even chips and pastas. While they have managed to rope in some popular athletes as their brand ambassadors, do the Quest Nutrition protein bars really align up to the manufacturer’s claim of being the healthiest protein bars in the segment? Let’s go through the review.
Quest Nutrition which is a US based manufacturer of healthy food snacks, claims to have come up with the healthiest protein bars in the market with 21 g of protein, 4 g of net carbs and 190 cal in each bar. These protein bars are designed to meet protein needs in the healthiest way, thereby targeting people who want to build lean muscle mass. The manufacturer boasts of making foods that do not compromise on nutrition and taste.
Nutrition Profile
The nutrition profile of Quest nutrition protein bars as put up on their official website, displays the ingredients and nutritional content in a transparent and upfront manner. Although, the manufacturer claims the bar to be all natural and contains no sugar alcohols, the bars do contain Erythritol, which is a sugar alcohol with zero calories used as sweetener. The other sweeteners used are stevia and sucralose. Let’s have a detailed look at the nutritional composition.
Ingredients:
- Protein Blend (Protein is derived from Milk Protein Isolate and Whey Protein Isolate)
- Almonds
- Unsweetened Chocolate
- Erythritol (artificial sweetener with zero calories)
- Calcium Carbonate (for calcium)
- Sucralose (artificial sweetener with zero calories)
- Steviol Glycosides/Stevia (plant extract with zero calories, does not affect the blood sugar)
- Soluble Corn Fiber (Prebiotic Fiber, helps in growth of healthy bacteria to enhance digestion and absorption of nutrition)
- Cocoa Butter
- Palm Oil (contains high amounts of saturated fats, widely used for its low cost and larger shelf life)
- Sea Salt.
Nutrition facts (For each bar of 60g)
- Protein: 21g
- Total Calories: 190
- Total fats: 9g (out of which proportion of saturated fats is 2.5g)
- Cholesterol 5mg
- Total Carbohydrate 20g
- Dietary Fibre 14g
- Sugar 0g
- Erythritol 2g (Artificial sweetener)
Taste
Most of the users are happy with the taste of these bars, some of them find it to be amazing. You may want to microwave it for a minute or two before consuming, this way the bar is even softer and tastier.There is a wide variety of flavours to choose from i.e. Rocky Road, cookies & Cream, strawberry cheesecake, double chocolate chunk, chocolate chip cookie dough, white chocolate raspberry, peanut butter supreme,Banana Nut Muffin, Coconut Cashew, Lemon Cream Pie, Mint Chocolate Chunk, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Vanilla Almond Crunch. The most liked flavours being Chocolate cookie dough, double chocolate chunk, cookies & cream. Vanilla Almond crunch being the all time favourite.
Effectiveness
Although most of the consumers seem to be happy, the percentage of saturated fat, could have been even lesser, had it not been for Palm oil used in the bar. The amount of fibre in the bar helps in keeping you full for almost 2 hours.. Also, with its delicious taste, the bar comes as an appetizing treat for most of the health enthusiasts. The overall calories, sugar (0 g) and fat content being low, it surely targets people who want to build lean muscle mass or those who are on a weight loss diet. It meets your protein needs adequately while ensuring that it doesn’t add on to extra carbohydrates and keeps the calories to a minimum.
Quality
Quality of the bar is adequate, since the protein in the bar is derived from rich sources like Whey protein isolate and milk protein isolate. Palm oil which is high in saturated fats could have been replaced with a healthier oil for a lower amount of saturated fats. Erythritol which is an artificial sweetener and a sugar alcohol, although it does not have any laxative effects, could have been completely replaced by Stevia which is a natural substitute for sugar, being a plant extract. The bar however meets the protein and fibre needs optimally.
Quest Nutrition Protein Bar Side-effects
The bar does not have any noticeable side-effects for most of the consumers. The artificial sweeteners like Erythritol or Sucralose do not have any laxative effects, however Erythritol is known to be slightly hard on your stomach and hence may cause bloating or gassiness for some people.
Price/ Value
The bar seems quite overpriced in India as it costs more than INR 3000 for 12 bars i.e. INR 250 Per bar. If we compare this to a good brand Whey Protein with the price per serving then it is merely INR 75-85 which gives you about 25g protein and approx 2-3 g carbs. There are other protein bars with nearly similar nutritional value out there, which are priced lesser. Not a value for money deal.
Quest Nutrition Protein Bar, S'mores, 12 Count
Features
- Quest Protein Bar with 21g protein and 6g net carbs, it’s practically a dream come true.
- Every delicious Quest Bar flavor has 20-21 grams of protein and plenty of fiber without a lot of unnecessary ingredients or extra carbs.
- Quest Bars are helping us inspire a global #CheatClean revolution.
- All Quest Bars are gluten and soy free, and contain no added sugar.
- With Quest Bars, you can eat toward your goals and love every bite along the way.